In the Realm of the Senses is an amazingly well-acted film that also boasts a fascinating and true sequence of events that actually took place during pre-WW2 Japan. While the film is actually quite good, a lot of people will more than likely be turned off by the sometimes pornographic content on display during various scenes. But hey, it didn't originally get rated X for nothing!

The basic plot involves a married man who begins a torrid love affair with one of his female servants. He's married, and much to his lover's dismay, he never quite wants to give up his wife. The lovers become obsessed with each other to the point where the woman would rather kill him (which she does in the end) instead of seeing him with another woman. Essentially, it's a tale of sexual obsession taken to the extreme.

The movie (like the similar and better 70's classic Last Tango in Paris) was released under a firestorm of controversy due to its explicit sexual content. But the difference is that Last Tango's sex scenes were simulated (though a lot of people still debate this). In the Realm of the Senses featured numerous scenes of actual penetration and intercourse between the two leads that more often than not came across as hardcore pornography to most people. The film was banned in many countries since a lot of people couldn't take sexual material this explicit in what was being marketed as a mainstream art film.

The plot is amazingly simple, but the movie works due to how convincing (and brave) the two leads are. Their work in this movie is some of the best acting that I've ever seen. Even during the scenes where they're actually having sex, they stay in character and manage to make the material believable and essential to the story, instead of just serving as a pornographic distraction.

But a lot of people rent this movie purely for the sex, of which there is a ton of. While there are some shots of actual penetration, many of the scenes are shot in a soft-core manner which makes the scenes feel less exploitative, even though the two leads were always having actual sex. One of the instances where I felt that the movie veered way too far into the hardcore realm was near the beginning in which the female lead performs oral sex on the male lead. The camera doesn't shy away from the details, and the unsuspecting viewer is even treated to an extended shot of his semen running down her chin while she smiles at him after he climaxes. This scene seemed kind of pointless and it almost seemed like it was thrown in to appeal to the hardcore porn crowd. There are also a few dialogue scenes, where instead of them just talking laying next to each other, we are treated to numerous shots of her caressing and kissing his penis while she talks to him. Like I mentioned before, it just came across as a bit much to me in a few spots. I don't mind explicit sexual intercourse in a mainstream film, but when the tone seems to start veering into hardcore porn territory, I have to question the director's motivations for making the movie. This is most apparent during a scene in which the male lead does something most unusual with a chicken egg to the lovely femal lead.

The film manages to stay interesting, despite the fact that much of it takes place in a room where the two leads meet and have sex. This true story caused quite a stir in Japan when it happened since the female ends up killing her lover (by castrating him after she strangles him) at the film's conclusion.

Like the recent French film Romance, In the Realm of the Senses is sure to raise serious debates as to what's pornography and what is not. I would say that about 70% of the film seemed to be legitimate art while the other 30% seemed to be nothing but explicit hard-core porn. I guess it could be debated that those explicit scenes (mainly the oral sex scenes and the part with the egg......watch it and you'll see what I mean) are just a natural extension of the character's sexual obsession with each other, but I think that the director just got a bit too carried away at times.

It should be noted that this movie managed to get re-rated NC-17 in the 90's. It was originally rated X when it came out. To the best of my knowledge, I didn't think that a movie this explicit could get an NC-17 rating. But apparently the MPAA now treats this rating as nothing more as their replacement for the X-rating, which I have been suspecting for years. The NC-17 rating was originally supposed to exist someplace between an R and X rating. But I guess some people who admire this film will argue that it's not porn.

So, do I think that this is a true art film or just pornography? Like I mentioned before, 70% came across to me as genuinely fine (though extremely explicit) art while the other 30% seemed to be nothing but hardcore porn. I guess it's just next to impossible to film a legitimate film with actual penetration and hardcore sex in it without some of it coming across as just porn. The movie should be viewed by people interested in classic cinema of the 70's since it's an interesting and notorious footnote in 70's cinema, but I think that most people will find the movie offensive and repellent. Still, I have to recommend this movie due to the great acting, believable characters and the risks that it was willing to take.

Did the movie need to be this excessively explicit? Check it out and decide for yourself.

In the Realm of the Senses is rated NC-17 and contains extreme sexual content (some of a pornographic nature), explicit graphic nudity and violence.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age